"The Best Food In The World" : On Thai Cuisine

What makes Thai food so special? What separates it from everything we know in the West? 

What dishes best exemplify Thai cooking?

 

When you are familiar with something you rarely question it. So it goes for how we eat. We grow up and the familiar becomes the habitual. I always loved food and appreciated great cooking, but I never really thought about it. As I grew up, I mostly ate the same things. The variety, as I saw it, when I was younger, came from predominantly Westernized versions of Eastern food (mostly Chinese).

 

Staples of my diet included bread, meats, potatoes, vegetables, and dairy products. And in truth, I’m still fond of these foods which were staples of my youth. I grew up eating simple and humble dishes like beef stew, cabbage and potatoes with meat, bread rolls with salad and chicken, or Shepherd's pie (a deep dish consisting of minced beef, carrots, onions and gravy on the bottom layer, and mashed potatoes oven baked). As Ireland becomes more of a diverse society it also benefits from the cuisines of other countries. 

 

But Thailand is a monolith of food culture. Unlike other cuisines that have been adopted in Ireland, Thai cuisine has never been truly represented. When you mention Thai food the first connections are usually to Pad Thai or Green Curry. This is the familiar, but what makes Thai food special is all that is unfamiliar. When I came to Thailand and began to sample more of Thai cuisine, I was astonished. As I tried these dishes, learned their names, and how they are made, my perspective on food changed.

 

So, what makes Thai food so special?

 

The first thing to know is that Thai food is an explosion of flavours. It’s very unusual for foreigners, the first time they eat a dish that has so many things happening at once. Some of the most popular Thai dishes are at the same time sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy. Each flavour is contrasted and balanced in a completely surprising way. A great example is Tom Yung Goong (which could be translated to spicy shrimp soup). In Tom Yung Goong the central ingredients of lemongrass, galangal (a unique herb somewhat similar to ginger), kaffir lime leaves and chilli paste make the broth hit every flavour. Coconut milk can also be included to balance out some of the spiciness. I remember the first time I tried this dish and I had absolutely nothing to compare it to that I had previously eaten. I highly recommend trying it if you can.

 

Similarly, another favourite dish of mine that includes every flavour is Som Tam (papaya salad). Made with a mortar and pestle it contains crunchy green papaya, fresh chiles, pungent garlic, dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, long beans, and tomatoes. The dressing contains fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar. What is surprising and brilliant about this dish is its freshness and complex flavours. I think when eating Western food we get used to the separation of sweet and savoury. We take our sweet flavours after our meal and the savoury dish is our main course. In Thai cuisine, the two are mixed and balance each other out. The result is a fascinating, flavourful dish, unlike any salad you’ve ever had before. It is enjoyed best Isan style with sticky rice and grilled chicken on the side.

 

What separates Thai cuisine from everything we know in the West?

 

I think perhaps the most important thing is the produce itself. Thailand can not only grow an amazing variety of fruit and vegetables, but it has also kept alive its market scene which gets these ingredients directly to the people. Living in Thailand you understand just how central food markets are to daily life. This is brilliantly covered by OTR (a food and history YouTube channel) in his recent video: A Day and Night Inside Khlong Toei: Bangkok's Legendary Food Center (link below). He makes the case that without local markets where producers can directly sell their food produce, the variety and uniqueness of Thai cuisine would be lessened. 

 

 

In Ireland (and increasingly in Western Europe), food is only to be found on a shopping aisle. A fresh food market scene was virtually non-existent where I grew up. Instead, people buy all of what they eat from huge company chains which decimate the ability of direct producers to sell locally. Instead, we have mass production, and I believe the quality of the food we eat reflects this. We begin to settle for bland flavours and more and more processed food. The difference between a chilli from a packet in a supermarket and a chilli plucked off of a chilli plant are worlds apart. We rarely question this. 

 

What is lost when market life disappears and is replaced with ever-enlarging supermarkets?

 

Wet markets get a bad rap because you can see the process directly. This was particularly the case when COVID-19 was said to have originated from a wet market in Wuhan (unverified). People commented on the ethics of such markets and their sanitary standards. 

 

But is it better that everything should be behind closed doors? 

Is it better that you only see your food wrapped in plastic in a supermarket? 

Does that mean it's more ethical and healthier in the long run?

 

 I’m not so sure. 

 

Thailand, for now, has retained its market scene. When you go there and see the variety of foods on display, which sellers have grown themselves, you cannot help but think that this is the way it should be. 

 

 

What dishes best exemplify Thai cooking?

 

I will list some of my favourite dishes which I think make Thai food the best food in the world.

 

Tom Yung Goong (spicy shrimp soup) and Som Tam (papaya salad) are two of my favourites I’ve already discussed. To them, I will add more dishes you can seek out:

Pad Krapow Moo Sap: Holy Basil Stir-Fry With Minced Pork (and a fried egg on top).

 

Laab Moo: Ground Meat Salad (made with mint, cilantro, and includes toasted rice powder)

 

Kow Nio Ma Muang: Mango sticky rice

 

Kai Jeow: Thai Omelette 

 

Khao Soi: Northern Style Thai Noodles 

 

Gaeng Som: Sour Curry

 

Gai Pad Prik Gaeng: Chicken Stir-Fry With Holy Basil And Red Curry Paste

 

Gang Fak Tong: Pumpkin Curry

 

Gang Massaman: Massaman Curry

OTR (a food and history YouTube channel): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yEwrUk_bCk

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